The US Department of State has barred Scott Ritter, a former Marine Corps intelligence officer and outspoken critic of American foreign policy, from boarding a flight from New York to Istanbul. Ritter was en route to Russia to speak at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum.

Ritter, who regularly appears on Press TV as a commentator, was going on his trip to Russia to participate in the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum as a guest speaker.

“I was boarding the flight. Three [police] officers pulled me aside. They took my passport. When asked why, they said ‘orders of the State Department’. They had no further information for me,” Ritter told RT on Tuesday.

“They pulled my bags off the plane, then escorted me out of the airport. They kept my passport,” he added.

Ritter further told Sputnik that he thinks the US authorities prevented him from traveling because they are "afraid" of his participation in the St. Petersburg event.

The St. Petersburg International Economic Forum is set to take place on June 5-8.

This year’s event is titled "The Foundations of a Multipolar World - The Formation of New Areas of Growth."

The US State Department declined to comment on the matter.

"We cannot comment on the status of the passport of a private US citizen," a State Department spokesperson told Russia's Tass news agency.

Ritter is a strong critic of US foreign policy particularly on Israel and has supported Palestinian resistance fighters since they launched the “Operation al-Aqsa Storm” against occupation forces on October 7, 2023.

Ritter called it “an extraordinary accomplishment from a strictly military standpoint.”

“It was stunning,” lauded Ritter.